There's a lot to think about during the beginning stages of a new blog. What platform will you use? What will you blog about? Who will want to read it? And what will you name your new masterpiece?Coming up with a compelling blog name is pretty important. In fact, I'd argue that in the beginning it's even more important to find a good name than to write good posts. Your content will improve over time (and the old posts will get buried in your archives). But if you have an awful, uninspired name or you keep changing your blog name, then few people (except perhaps your mother or spouse) will bother to read your posts or check back for new ones.
Ideally, you'll find an awesome name and stick with it.
Unfortunately, that's not what I did. I originally dubbed this blog The Urban Redhead, which felt sassy and modern but had nothing to do with writing. A week or so later, I renamed it The Urban Muse. And while I love that name, there were other a couple of other considerations I failed to factor in. Read on to avoid my mistakes.
1. Alphabetical placement. It's worth thinking about, because most people's blogrolls are arranged alphabetically and many readers start clicking from the top down. I'm curious how much more traffic I might have gotten had I named it An American Muse or A Boston Writer Writes or something else closer to the beginning of the alphabet. Not that those are better names, but given a choice, I'd choose the one closer to the beginning of the alphabet.
2. Similarly named blogs or businesses. Much as I love the name I chose, it does create a bit of confusion, because there are a few other blogs with similar names, not to mention a day spa in New Jersey! Ideally, you'd choose a totally original name like Men with Pens or Copyblogger so that when someone googles your blog, all of the search results point to you. Of course, with so many blogs and websites already in existance, this can be tough. Jot down some keyboards relating to your topic and think about creative or unexpected combinations and variations that still communicate your blog's focus.
3. Extra words add confusion. When I started out on a Blogspot domain, UrbanMuse dot blogspot was already taken, so I chose theUrbanMuse instead. Most people forgot to include "the" when typing my URL, so I dropped "the" and added "writer" when I bought my own domain from Google. That's better because it includes "writer" as a keyword, which clues in readers and search engines. Avoid using "the" in your URL, because people usually forget it.
What about you? How did you arrive at the name for your blog? Would you have done anything differently?
Flickr photo courtesy of NatalieMaynor
18 comments:
Susan, you get big points for finding such a memorable name, especially since there are so many writer's blogs already out there. My friend Rasoir and I, late to the game, struggled with this problem. We ended up calling our blog 3:17 a.m. Please click on my name to learn why.
I wish that I had been able to read this post when I named my blog nearly a year ago. I thought about a lot of things, like being descriptive (which in the end is what keywords is all about). I wound up with A Traveler's Library, which I belatedly noticed winds up at the top of blog rolls. (Yea!) But I almost left the A off, thinking people would forget it. That does not seem to be a problem. However, if I had been even more descriptive, "a traveler's books and movies" for instance, it would have helped the search engines.
And yet--there are those names that refer to absolutely nothing and have built a gazillion followers. So maybe we shouldn't worry?
Great topic, Susan. It's hard to name a blog. I just started Writer Abroad, and now I'm thinking I should have done A Writer Abroad so it wouldn't be so down in the alphabet. But oh well. Hopefully it's something people are interested in reading about and that's what counts in the end.
When I was making my blog name -- I wanted it to have my name to start building name recognition. I also wanted it to have some kind of "Brain science" angle to it to signal my niche. I ended up with Livia Blackburne: A Brain Scientist's Take on Creative Writing -- which I guess does that, but I don't like how long it is. Hrmmm.
All of these are great points! Of course, your blog's URL and the name don't have to be an exact match (mine is called The Urban Muse but the URL is UrbanMuseWriter.com). As long as it's not *too* confusing, you could call your blog, say "A Writer Abroad," and keep the URL as writerabroad.com (and if it's not too expensive, you could buy both domains and do a redirect).
I am still thinking of a perfect name. I started my blog initially just with my username "Lost Wanderer", but then I have focused it specifically on writing, so I want to change it to writing related name. But all the names I have so far found are already taken, so still thinking...
Oh you are so right. My blog is named "When Fridays Were Fridays" and while I still like the name, I can't help but notice that it's on the bottom of every list alphabetically.
Interesting post, Susan. I hadn't realized about the alphabetical thing. I struggled for weeks (if not months) in coming up with a name for mine. Originally, I was going to go with something about being in your 40s (e.g. 40something, roaring 40s etc) but a friend pointed out that I shouldn't limit my audience with an age range. She was right.
I was initially reluctant to choose "realdelia" because I'm not famous enough to warrant just one name, like Cher. But I felt that the play on words with "real deal" and authenticity was exactly what I'm shooting for in my blog. And now I'm really happy with it!
Delia Lloyd
www.realdelia.com
I thought about naming my blog 'sexy lady things'. But decided not to.
Oh how I wish I had done - I get NO VISITORS. I hate the internet (apart from porn).
Kay
x
I gave mine such little thought it's ridiculous. I never expected it to amount to anything more than a daily brain dump. Well, it is, but people actually read it! Go figure. ;)
Words on the Page. There's a Words on a Page, with which mine is often confused. I'd considered changing the name, but I'm used to it. And too many people are linked to it and it would just foul up navigation....
Yea, I could've used this post three years ago. LOL
I came up with Everyday Thoughts from Life while I was doing some keyword research. Turns out that 3 of the most popular search words are Everyday, Thoughts and Life...Hence, Everyday Thoughts from Life was born.
Turns out the name signals exactly what I was looking to write about...thoughts from my everyday life. What a co-winkidink :)
My blog, The Sari-Clad Bride, is about South Asian weddings, but I wanted something more original than South Asian bride, or the term 'desi' which is a slang word for South Asians. I figured a sari is something related to south asian brides and most people, who aren't even from the Indian subcontinent know what a sari is. I'm quite happy with my blog title and I get good google results!
Great post! My blog title, "From Sarah, With Joy", though it fits with what I'm trying to convey, could probably say more about my actual topic: creative writing. But I also like to talk about the life of an artist in general, so perhaps it works. But thanks for this! (my creative writing blog)
Great points here. I started a coffee blog not long ago. When I came up with a blog name I didn't want it to be generic or obvious, yet has a nice ring. So, I decided on Daily Demitasse. The blog is for coffee enthusiast who would know what a demitasse is and the fact that I love espresso. Alliteration makes it easier to remember.
My blog name, Thoughts Happen, just came to me. It was one of those "knock me over the head" experiences while I was paging through Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" at Borders. The name came to me before I had completely formulated the idea of writing a blog, but when I did decide to start one, I knew that had to be the name. ThoughtsHappen.net was available so I snatched it up. Lucky me!
I love reading history and historical fiction so I thought I'd pick a name of an historical figure that I love to read about. Hence,the reason I picked the name: Enchanted by Josephine. Empress Josephine was a woman that women from any social class can relate to, specifically because she seems to have gone through it all! You could say that Josephine is my muse- lol!
I think the name is pretty reflective of what I read and write..mostly history based on historical women of the past - and Josephine suits the image, I think. Great post! Thanks:)
Wow - great post, lots to think about, I wish that I had been able to jump into a time machine and read this before I started my blog this summer.
As I started to write I cycled through many generic sounding names, not sure really what I was going to write about - and that is still taking shape. As I started to work on the laptop my dog was of course climbing on the keyboard, and I knew I would be writing about him a lot, so I named it for him: http://alfredliveshere.blogspot.com
The alphabetical thing was a fluke which worked in my favour - it helps as I start to appear in people's blogrolls. The downside is it doesnt tell anyone about the blog except that there is going to be a picture of a cute scruffball there. Learning? not sure - would have to include a lot of words like artsy, gay, Canadian, outspoken, and more to cover it... that would be a waaay too long blog name!
I'm not sure the name is as important as we think, although it's a good point re alphabet listings. I think getting some good back links to the blog is the best way of getting traffic plus writing quality content of course.
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